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M.F.Husain the legend!

Maqbool Fida Husain or ‘Picasso of India’ as he was popularly called died at the age of 95 on 9 June 2011 following a heart attack. He breathed his last at 2.30 a.m.(07.00 IST) at Royal Brompton Hospital in London.

My floral tributes to - M.F.Husain - the great artist, Indian and philosopher with a fatherly smile rendering his countrymen a bliss of unending love from an unblemished heart. MF was a person, who never meant offence against any individual, let alone Hindus or India – a country he cherished as his motherland. Unfortunately, some people of ill-gotten wisdom had him mentally and physically tortured, horrendously persecuted to the extent of getting him ousted from his own motherland.

Just as he never nursed any ill will against any individual, so too, he will care to paint an India sublime that will ever cherish the pleasantness of peace, happiness and prosperity for years to come.

M.F. Husain passed away in solitude. At peace with his creator and cherishing a fond memory of the magnificent metropolitan city of Mumbai where he lived, worked and suffered ignominiously at the hands of religious fanatics till he opted to seek exile in an unknown country up to the time of his death.

I respect him. I bid my eternal farewell to this great great soul who has spent most of his years on a soil which was not worthy of a dedicated artist like M.F.Husain.  I am sure God will reward him a hundred fold for all the work he has done. His deeds have always enchanted millions of people across the world and the millions who have been his favorites will ever remember him as an exotic flower of Indian culture, breed and brand. May he be rewarded by God with His choicest blessings to rest in the abode where we all are to reach one day.  May God give his family necessary strength to bear this great loss.

A year or so back, I had sprayed my mind on to internet with copious praise of the man, whom world will never forget, even though the very people among whom he was born and brought up will. MF will always be remembered as a contemporary personality, one who never can leave the world. So, thus went my post:

Time and again news reports and editorials have appeared in the media with highlights on the life and activities of M.F.Husain.  Husain is an Indian citizen and a painter by profession. There have been large exhibitions with exclusive portrayal of his life-time works and achievements, not only in India but throughout the world.  M.F.Husain is a celebrity and world renowned for his achievements as an artist, a profession he nurtured to excellence that made the nation – India – proud. It was thus a proud India that emerged out of the shadow of Maqbool Fida Husain to award him the prestigious Padma Shree in the year 1955.

M.F.Husain hails from a very poor family but by dint of sheer hard work and dedication rose to become a world renowned artist. During his early life, Husain managed to eke out a living by the deft use of his brush and a painting kit strapped around his waste. He labored for years by the road side or hanging on to scaffoldings in the vicinity of heavy traffic and public places working on portraits and similar artistic master pieces. He first shot to fame as an artist in the second half of 1940. Elaborate exhibitions depicting his paintings and similar art objects captivated the minds of his admirers and for over five decades his artistic skills started getting wide publicity both in India as well as abroad. His first exhibition was held at Zurich in 1952. In 1955, he was awarded the prestigious Padma Shree by the Government of India. Large gatherings and exhibitions on life and works of M.F.Husain have always enthralled the audience who has known him as a painter of humble origin.

Husain received extensive media coverage during the later part of twentieth century. With the advancing age, Husain excelled himself as a towering personality in the field of art which did not come to him on a platter, at least not at a throw-away price. Muslim community in India is looked down upon with scorn and despised by the majority group viz. Hindus. Under such circumstances, it entails a great deal of effort by any Muslim to attain certain degree of recognition within the society. However, Husain achieved the impossible. But unfortunately the stream of applause Husain received during his heyday as an artist got reversed with the passing of time and the inclement tempest of backlash by his adversaries came knocking at his dawn of a glorious life. Husain incurred the wrath of communal elements within the country, became the target of the very communal fanatics that have held the nation to ransom and at whose behest there have been large-scale arson, looting and persecution of people of other religions. Unable to subdue his expression of anger at the ill-treatment meted out to his community by the Hindus, Husain seemingly exploited his talent to poke fun of his adversaries with an element of sarcasm by depicting their gods and goddesses in his own euphemistically sarcastic manner. This infuriated the already alert Hindu organizations who decided to teach M.F.Husain a lesson for life by haunting him out of his own motherland. Vociferous among his opponents were some of the communal elements owing allegiance to Hindu religion, on the ground that his paintings have demeaned their religion and hurt their sentiments.  M.F.Husain had no other choice but to leaveIndia for shelter abroad.

In the backdrop of such hostile atmosphere created by Hindu organizations (RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal, Shiv Sena alike) and realizing that the situation was reaching a seething point, unable to bear the constant rumblings by the fanatic elements and hard put to cope up with the litigations pending against him, Husain, per force, decided to call it quits by opting for a self-imposed exile. As a matter of fact I had written in my very first post after joining Gather regarding the pathetic situation in which M.F.Husain was struggling to eke out a living in a foreign country namely U.K, away from his near and dear ones, and that too at a ripe old age of 94. Going by the media coverage, Husain is said to have visited the US in connection with an exhibition he organized some time during last year. It may be worth noting that despite various moves by several people of eminence, the issue of Husain’s return from self-imposed exile back to his motherland has been hanging fire without a solution in sight. A person, who has never meant offence against any individual, let alone Hindu religion, has been made to suffer horrendously at the hands of his own countrymen for a fault that could squarely be placed on the majority community which has not left any stone unturned in giving the Muslim community in India sleepless nights since the days of partition.

Incidentally, during his life time and prior to his exile, Husain was made to suffer ignominious insults and unnecessary harassment at the hands of the majority community and their communal organizations.  Over and above the vilification campaign let loose by the fanatic elements, he was also made to suffer persecution at the hands of these hoodlums, who with a view to harass him had got him implicated in litigations, which made him resort to the extreme step of leaving the country. Many such cases are still pending against M.F.Husain in the Supreme Court but when the going started getting tough unable to bear the insult on his person, Husain left for UK. Ever since then, Husain has been enduring a hard life, away from his motherland – India.

He had been for some years in U.K. However, in the wake of the recent report (H.T.dt.5.10.2009) by the renowned journalist namely Karan Thapar, who regularly writes in the columns of Hindustan Times, New Delhi edition, has evoked certain interest at various levels, especially by the Government of India. To this end the government is making a request to the Supreme Court to ensure speedy disposal of litigations against Husain so that he may be brought back gracefully to live the rest of his life in the company of his dear ones.  It is envisaged that by December end, Husain will be brought back to India. Necessary arrangement is also being contemplated to avoid any untoward incident that could aggravate the situation further. It needs to be reiterated that it was Karan Thapar’s initiative through his recent report that the Government of India decided to come forward with a determined strategy to bring Husain back to India.  My post ended there.

Husain was later awarded the citizenship of Qatar but his mind wandered about the lanes and by lanes of Mumbai where he had spent his childhood days and which place still holds the sweat from his brow that earned him his name and fame as MF – the Artist – a legend who will be remembered for ever.

A flower of Indian art - M.F.Husain will be remembered for ages hence. May God grant peace and happiness to even those who have inflicted much pain to M.F.Husain, those who have flung aspersions on him, spread calumny against his person, people who have made his last days - months and years unbearable. May God chastise the wicked who tormented this great soul. May the evil perish eternal damnation so that no one ever be despised like as M.F.Husain was by his own countrymen. I wish him all the blessings that God, in His infinite goodness will bestow upon M.F.Husain. R.I.P.